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MSU STUDY OF
CEREBRAL MALARIA
In the most comprehensive
study to date of the disease in
African children, it was found
that almost a third of cerebral
malaria survivors developed
epilepsy or behavioral disorders.
The research, led by Gretchen
Birbeck, associate professor of
neurology and ophthalmology in
MSU’s College of Osteopathic
Medicine, appears in The Lancet
Neurology.
Cerebral malaria is a severe
form of malaria affecting the
brain, occurring predominantly
in children, with a mortality rate
of 15-25 percent. It affects about
one million children every year,
primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Our findings show that children
with cerebral malaria are at
risk of developing several adverse
neurological outcomes including
epilepsy, disruptive behavior
disorders and disabilities characterized
by motor, sensory or
language deficits,” says Birbeck,
also director for the International
Neurologic & Psychiatric
Epidemiology Program. “The
modifiable risk factors for these
disorders in children with cerebral
malaria are acute seizures
and extreme fevers.”
“We need to be more aggressive
in treating the two major
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risk factors: seizures and high
fever,” she said, adding that the
next step will be to start clinical
trials to identify treatments
aimed at better seizure and fever
control.
Snapp
Birbeck
GREEN REVOLUTION
IN AFRICA
Crop diversification with
shrubby legumes mixed with
soybeans and peanuts could be
the key to sustaining the green
revolution in Africa. An MSU
study published in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of
Sciences (Nov. 22, 2010) found
that diversifying crops could
boost production of nutrientenriched
grain by 12 percent to
23 percent.
Sieglinde Snapp, a crop and soil
scientist at MSU’s Kellogg Biological
station who led the study,
says that food and environmental
security in Africa could be enhanced
by, for example, rotating
corn with pigoenpea mixtures to
keep the soil from being stripped
of nutrients while increasing
nutrient-rich grain productivity.
This has taken place in Malawi,
the so-called cradle of Africa’s
green revolution.
“This diversified rotation provides
multiple benefits compared
to simply planting a continuous
corn crop,” says Snapp, who was
assisted by researchers from the
the Farmhouse (Norwich, U.K.),
the University of Florida, the
University of Western Ontario
(Canada) and the University of
Malawi.
NEW PLACES TO
GROW BIOFUELS
MSU researchers are finding
new, perhaps surprising locations
to grow crops used for biofuel.
Dennis Pennington, an MSU
Extension bioenergy educator, is
working with a team to identify
possibilities for producing cellulosic
and oilseed biofuel crops for
the “Freeways to Fuels” project.
The goal is to determine whether
biofuel crops can be produced
on nontraditional land, such as
highway rights of way, vacant
urban land and airport property.
“When producing crops for
biofuels, we don’t want to take
away farmland that’s being used
for food crops,” Pennington says.
“So the question is, where else
could we plant? Michigan has a
lot of non-traditional land with
poorer soils that might provide
a location for biofuels crop
production.”
Pennington and his team
will grow switchgrass and three
oilseed crops: oriental mustard,
pennycress and canola. These are
low-growing crops that will not
block people’s lines of sight and
do not attract wildlife.
“Harvesting, processing and
utilizing our own homegrown
bioenergy feedstocks can help
grow Michigan’s economy,
preserve our environment and
decrease our dependence on
foreign oil,” adds Terri Novak
of Michigan’s Department of
Energy, Labor and Economic
Growth.
MSU KUDOS
Every quarter, MSU faculty,
staff and students garner kudos
too numerous to list exhaustively
here. Some examples:
Asgi Fazleabas, director of
MSU’s Center for Women’s
Health Research and associate
chair of the College of Human
Medicine’s Department
of Obstetrics, Gynecology and
Reproductive Biology, received
the Society for the Study of
Reproduction 2010 Research
Award of the American Society
for Reproductive Medicine.
Three MSU professors have
been named Fulbright Scholars—Alan
Beretta, professor
of Linguistics and Languages,
will conduct research in Greece;
Adam Candeub, associate
professor at the MSU College
of Law, will study cybercrime
in Croatia; and Sayuri Guthrie
Shimizu, associate professor of
history, will study in Japan.
Three individuals with connections
to the MSU College
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